WASHINGTON  Ted Cruz and Mike Lee stand as the Senates dynamic duo for conservatives, crusading against President Barack Obamas health care law while infuriating many congressional Republicans with a tactic they consider futile, self-serving and detrimental to the partys political hopes in 2014.

Cruz, the Texan whos been anything but a wait-your-turn freshman, and Lee, the tea party-backed giant slayer from Utahs 2010 election, spent months this summer pressuring Republicans to link any stopgap spending bill to keep the government running with permanently starving President Barack Obamas health overhaul of money.

The two former Supreme Court clerks are determined to reverse what the conservative court of Chief Justice John Roberts upheld in 2012  Obamas signature domestic law.

The senators scored a win Friday when the Republican-led House, pushed by rambunctious rank-and-file members, passed a spending measure that would unravel the law. But the approach faces near-certain defeat in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where lawmakers in both parties complain that Cruz and Lee have pushed a losing cause.

In the meantime, their strategy has roiled many in the GOP, with plenty of public and private carping. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, subtly challenged Cruz and Lee to back up their words next week.

I expect my Senate colleagues to be up for the battle, Boehner said.

Several Republicans complain that the tactic could lead to a government shutdown on Oct. 1, the start of the new budget year, that would undercut the GOP politically...

Federal employees and the military wont get paid. Where it gets interesting is when he gets to decide if the social security recipients get paid or not or if the ghetto rats get their EBT cards plussed up or not

There are precedents and rules. There are very few consequences to a "government shutdown."

-Fed employees aren't paid, but have always been paid retroactively. -Military gets paid. -Contractors aren't paid. -SSI payments get paid, although the SSA staff might get cut, and payments delayed at some point. -Medicare is paid. -National parks closed. -Air traffic controllers are paid, and airports stay open. That's about it. A government shutdown is a good thing. In fact, it can work to our advantage, since the media hysteria will be exposed for what it is.

Retired Chief Justice William Rehnquist was once also a Supreme Court clerk and later wrote a book titled "The Supreme Court" that is fascinating reading in that it brilliantly covers Supreme Court history from the begining of our nation.

Ted Cruz, Mike Lee and Sarah Palin types are our nation's best hope for the survival of our Constitution and nation.

If they were to follow the Robinson Doctrine, and fund departments piecemeal...when the Senate sent back an amended bill for a certain department, the Republicans could simply table it and send over the next one...for a different department.

It looks like a novel way to kill off a few hated departments...like "Labor" and "Education"...right off the top.

“My guesses are (a) that there will be “shutdown” and (b) that few aside from “non-essential” Federal employees will notice, despite yells and screams from the “legitimate media.”

You are correct. And that’s why we need to start talking about the debt ceiling. Unless the debt ceiling is raised, the government will not be able to increase borrowing. That means that roughly half of spending would get to stop. Butt cold. And the best part is that dear leader would have to decide who gets paid and who does not. Will he fund interest payments or social security, the military or EBT cards?

The debt ceiling will be reached in late October, early November.

46
posted on 09/21/2013 12:47:27 PM PDT
by RKBA Democrat
(Power disintegrates when people withdraw their obedience and support)

“There are precedents and rules. There are very few consequences to a “government shutdown.”

I’m not talking about the continuing resolution. I’m talking about the debt ceiling. If that is not raised in late October, early November, then the government cannot borrow any more. It has to pay out of receipts. Which are a little more than half of expenditures.

Think of it like a clipping dear leaders credit card.

47
posted on 09/21/2013 12:50:55 PM PDT
by RKBA Democrat
(Power disintegrates when people withdraw their obedience and support)

Amen. And there’s a long list of federal departments, agencies and programs that can stand defunding. If the people feel any of them are really and truly needed, the individual states can take them up (per the US Constitution). The feds have no constitutional authority in labor, commerce, transportation, energy, health, education, welfare, housing, banking, insurance, free enterprise, free markets, etc, etc, etc. Again per the US Constitution, that’s all reserved to the states and the people.

“Well, I hope so too, but you know they (Boehner/Ryan et al) caved easily in the last debt ceiling pillow fight. Hope theyve boned up for the fight this time.”

Lord knows I hope they’re successful. But even if they aren’t, they MUST acquit themselves honorably in the fight. I don’t think we have much choice but to follow their lead. We get to fight with the Army we have, not the one we wish we had.

Every now and then Speaker Boehner does surprise. And he is similar to dear leader in that he is very ego driven. Nowhere near as malignant or malevolent as dear leader, but they appear to be motivated by the same types of things. Did you catch the speech by Speaker Boehner when this was announced? He looked happy. He was getting the accolades of his colleagues and he was enjoying it thoroughly.

OK. We Can Work With That. If what the Speaker Boehner needs is some conservative love....well then hey, what does that cost us? Is it somehow wrong or dishonorable to say THANK YOU when someone does the right thing? To cheer them on when they done good? Heck no.

So, the honorific of Speaker Boehner in caps is back. And I will be calling his office to thank him on Monday.

58
posted on 09/21/2013 1:18:12 PM PDT
by RKBA Democrat
(Power disintegrates when people withdraw their obedience and support)

I think that it’s hilarious that those Republicans who don’t want to defund Obamacare, but say they do, seem to overlap with those who said they wanted to build the border fence, but just never could get around to doing it.

That is, they are two-faced liars. They never wanted a border fence at all, so they decided that the best way to stop it was to pretend to support it, then totally undermine what should have been a simple project.

And it’s the same ones who now claim that some nebulous time in the future will be when they will end Obamacare. But the truth is that they will *never* vote against it, always claiming excuses, because in truth they like it.

To heck with them. There are times in Washington for strategy, but if that strategy leads nowhere, then the heck with it. Take on the enemy head on.

The sooner the Tea Party identifies and purges the RINOs, the better.

60
posted on 09/21/2013 1:23:31 PM PDT
by yefragetuwrabrumuy
(The best War on Terror News is at rantburg.com)

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